Far-out fashion

Far-out fashion

Olivia O’Neill has fashioned her business to suit isolated women.

Story Therese Hall

When Olivia O’Neill arrived in Birdsville, Qld, 10 years ago as a backpacker from Ireland, she was horrified to find herself far away from the world of fashion. “I’ve always had a weakness for the sales rack,” she laughs. Living in the remote desert outpost – with its complete absence of clothing boutiques – may have led some fashionistas to hotfoot it for the coast, but it provided Olivia with the inspiration for a web-based ‘image consultancy’. “My aim is to give something to the women of the outback who can’t just go into big department stores and shop,” she says.

The result is her business So You Consulting, launched last year when the NBN fired up in Birdsville. It offers a 12-week online course designed to help women identify the colours and styles best suited to their skin tones and body type. “Some women hate shopping – they absolutely detest it,” she says. “That’s because they don’t know what suits them; they don’t know where to start.”